Aruacana? or EE?

[jahphotogal]

Hi,
I bought two-week-old chicks from a farm store, and one was said to be an Aruacana. I have been reading that they are actually quite rare, so I"m wondering if that's really what I have. The true Aruacana's seem to come in several different colors - can you tell from these shots if she is one? She's about six weeks old, or a little more, now. She's a big bigger than the Wyandottes (Columbian and Golden-Laced) I have, and smaller than the Austra White.


You can see she doesn't really have a comb yet. Her cheeks are slightly tufted, and her feathers are a lovely combination of soft grey, dark brown, and brilliant golden-yellow.

 

[azamazal]

araucana are rumpless actually, so they look like this

they are supposed to have tufts like this pic, but no beard. i don't know that much about them, but here is a site about ameraucanas with pics of the accepted colors as chicks and adults. hope it helps http://www.ameraucana.org/scrapbook.html and here is an araucana site i just found http://www.araucana.net/

 

[Pele]

araucana are rumpless actually, so they look like this

they are supposed to have tufts like this pic, but no beard. i don't know that much about them, but here is a site about ameraucanas with pics of the accepted colors as chicks and adults. hope it helps http://www.ameraucana.org/scrapbook.html and here is an araucana site i just found http://www.araucana.net/

Good info here

You've run into an unfortunate issue in the chicken world, and that is feedstores and hatcheries are less than honest about their stock sometimes

Any time you see a feedstore offering Aruacanas or Ameraucanas, it's a safer bet to assume that they do not have these birds. They offer Easter Eggers, not rare purebreds.

 

[jahphotogal]

Maybe so, but from that link azamal posted, I found one that looks an awful lot like mine:

This is listed as a Silver Ameraucana. I am not sure if it could be called "rumpless" - it has quite a tail, and the coloring (icnluding the blue-grey legs) and shape look similar to my Bonnie. I'll see how her neck feathers develop and then I'llk now!

 

[speckledhen]

Yours is a hatchery Easter Egger, not an Ameraucana and not an Araucana. She has muffs, not tufts.

Araucanas are very, very rare and NO hatchery sells them, nor do they sell true Ameraucanas.

This thread is wonderful for its discussion of the differences between Ameraucanas, Araucanas and what all the hatcheries sell, the Easter Eggers: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=128806

 

[clucking cuties]

Don't despair, your bird is a beautiful Easter Egger.

I love my EE's.

In skipping around BYC, I found this great thread.

This is about the South American heritage of our little Easter Eggers, and we have much to be thankful for and prize our birds for their own special virtues.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/402512/quechua-tojuda-ameraucana-easter-eggers-in-vino-veritas

Enjoy this lovely bird. I think it looks like a girl, but here is a great thread about sexing EE's and people are wonderful about giving you help on this thread.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/463817/easter-egger-sexing-tips-and-tricks-pictures-included

 

[jahphotogal]

I certainly don't despair - I adore her whatever her label. She's the friendliest of my flock, and seems to have the most personality (chickenality?) And I think she's beautiful!

 

[clucking cuties]

I think that she is very beautiful also, she reminds me of one of my own.

Sweet wonderful birds for the most part, although I do have one who is slightly evil and likes to bully smaller birds.. she is getting better about it though

.

 

[BlueCamas]

Definitely an Easter Egger, no hatchery actually sell Ameraucanas or Araucanas unfortunately. Good luck, your girl is very pretty

 

[WalkingOnSunshine]

This is listed as a Silver Ameraucana. I am not sure if it could be called "rumpless" - it has quite a tail, and the coloring (icnluding the blue-grey legs) and shape look similar to my Bonnie. I'll see how her neck feathers develop and then I'llk now!

There is a difference between Ameraucanas and Araucanas. They are two separate breeds that share a common ancestry and look quite different. Araucanas are rumpless and have tufts on their faces. Ameraucanas have tails and muffs and beards. Your bird, while lovely, is neither. It's an Easter Egger hatchery bird that would not conform to either breed standard, which includes more than just muffs and tufts. I know it's frustrating to think you bought a rare bird for a bargain price and have it turn out to be a mutt, but they are wonderful birds and often lay blue or green eggs (though I've seen pink and cream from hatchery EEs, too).

Don't stress about it. You have what you have. If you are interested in chickens that conform to breed standards, look up a reputable breeder and get some birds or hatching eggs.

In the meantime, congrats on such a lovely girl! I've never seen that exact color pattern on a chicken before, and I love it.